Dual chambered container with three interchangeable lids and ability to keep contents at separate temperatures

ABSTRACT

Dual chambered container with partition space between the walls of the two chambers to prevent contents from reaching a uniform temperature; three interchangeable lids with flip up spouts: to pour or sip contents separately when spout is lifted up, to pour or sip contents mixed together when spout is lifted up, pour or sip from one chamber when flip up spout is lifted up and pick out snacks, chips etc from the other chamber; gasket between lid and bottle body to seal bottle and prevent leakage; stainless steel insert between the two content chambers so contents will reach uniform temperature or stainless steel clip sleeve to allow direct thermal contact between content of each chamber.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation in part of application Ser. No.14/296,355 filed on Jun. 30, 2014 by the present inventor which isincorporated herewith by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Technical Art

The present disclosure relates to dual chambered containers for liquids,purees, solids where the two chambers are separated by a dividing walland for separately dispensing liquids.

2. Description of Related Art

The bottle is designed with 3 interchangeable lids. The first lid is a2-n-1 design that has separate flip-up spouts for extracting liquidsfrom both the first and second chamber. The second lid, a 2-to-1 flip-upspout design that has two spouts for extracting contents from both thefirst and second chamber and merge into one spout allowing contents tomix together upon consumption. The third lid consists of a Snack anddrink lid which consists of one flip up spout for sipping or pouringliquid from on chamber and a snap on lid for eating snacks, chips andother foods from the second chamber.

Liquid storage containers have been provided in numerous shapes andsizes for various liquid commodities. The most ubiquitous liquid storagecontainers are presently plastic and provide multiple shapes and sizeswith mass production capability and recyclable materials. A popularliquid storage container is a drinking bottle. Typically, mostindividuals utilize a drinking bottle formed of a molded plasticmaterial. The most common type of molded plastic drinking bottle employsa neck portion supporting a removable cap and a chamber connected to aneck portion. These plastic drinking bottles are reasonably durable, arereusable with most liquid drinks of choice, are economical to make andto purchase, and are easy to use (in that an individual can grip thebottle with one hand and take a drink via the outlet means with-outspilling the liquid).

In particular, sports bottles have become very popular over the years asmolded drinking bottles. Sports bottles are containers which generallyhave a removable lid, are relatively tall and easy to hold and have acap or lid positioned at the top portion of the sports bottle. Sportsbottles have become quite popular given the increased exercise activityof individuals. Sports bottles are convenient because they do not leakand can be readily carried or placed without fear of spilling the liquidcontained therein. To use a sports bottle, one simply places the desiredliquid in the sport bottle and closes the lid and/or inserts a straw.Thereafter, whenever it is desired to acquire liquid, one merely opensthe lid to allow access to the liquids. Many individuals who exerciseare interested in workouts of extended durations, at various levels ofintensity. Thus, many individuals have available or even carry severalbottles of water or other liquids to replenish body liquids lost fromsweating. Thus, individuals may desire more than one type of drink toreplenish the body liquids lost from sweating when engaging in one ormore intense work activities, without inadvertently mixing the liquids.

Furthermore, one of the most critical needs facing individuals engagedin sports is the continuous supply or intake of different liquids (e.g.,drinking water, sports drinks, energy drinks, protein shakes, etc.)while they exercise. During extended exercise activities, individualsface serious dehydration problems and the loss of competitivecapabilities unless they continuously replenish the fluids lost duringsuch exercise activities. Because of increase liquid consumption forexercise, sports etc. the need to have more than one container of water,sport drinks and other thirst quencher have also increased. Thus, thereis a need to provide a bottle that is capable of dispensing more thanone type of liquid separately, without inadvertently mixing the liquids

Traditional sports bottles present a limitation in that they do notallow an individual to enjoy a plurality of different liquid drinksseparately from each other, without the liquids mixing. Similarly thereare other dual chamber bottles that have separate outlets for contentsof each chamber. Most dual chamber bottles either allow the contents toreach a uniform temperature or the contents to stay at separatetemperature. Thus, despite other practitioners' efforts to provideimproved systems, there remains nonetheless a continuing need in the artfor an improved liquid supply apparatus for use by individuals, such as,but not limited to, individuals engaged in sports or exerciseactivities.

U.S. Pat. No. 9,120,599 describes a very simple dual chamber drinkcontainer consisting of a lid and two straws. However, this containerdoes not allow the user to mix contents before they leave container. Thesame issue arises with US Patent Application US 2013/0001233 because itdoes not allow mixing of contents before they leave container. U.S. Pat.No. 8,240,581 describes two outlet tubes to drink out of two containersbut the apparatus described in this patent does not allow the user tohave the contents mixed before they leave the apparatus. U.S. Pat. No.6,042,018 describes liquid drinking assemblage system but does not allowliquids to be mixed before leaving the container. U.S. Pat. No.5,794,819 provides a bottle which does not allow mixing of the contentsbefore they leave the bottle.

US Patent Application 2015/0353260 describes a multi chamber containerbut does not allow mixing of the chamber contents before leaving thecontainer. U.S. Pat. No. 5,954,213 also describes a dual chamberedbottle but also does not provide for mixing of the chamber contentsbefore leaving the bottle. U.S. Pat. No. 8,240,497 describe dualchambered bottle but does not provide for mixing contents before leavingthe bottle.

US Patent Application 2006/0021996 provides dual multi chamber drinkbottle with the ability to mix the liquids before they leave. Thisbottle has a squeeze feature making it very difficult to refill once thecontents have been emptied out. This bottle lacks the ability toactually provide users the ability to drink contents out separately.This bottle does not have the temperature control features as thosepresented in the present disclosure. The bottle in the presentdisclosure could also be used for snacks like chips, raisins etc.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,260,462 provides drinking tubes for simultaneouslydrinking two liquids. Compared to the present disclosure, these drinkingtubes can only be use for sucking out liquids but they cannot be usedfor pouring out liquids. When these drinking tubes are inserted into adrinking cup with two holes, it will inadvertently lead to leakage ofcontents when the liquids are poured out. The present disclosureprovides for gaskets between the flip up spouts which prevent theliquids from leaking out.

In US Patent Application 2015/0353259, the applicant described a dualchambered bottle with the interchangeable lids to allow a user to pouror sip the contents of the bottle separately or together by having themmixed before they are poured out.

The present disclosure is intended to overcome the drawbacks ofconventional and or traditional dual chamber bottle systems by providinga means to use a single bottle with interchangeable lids to consumecontents either separately or mixed together. Similarly, the presentdisclosure allows one dual chamber bottle to have the flexibility ofeither keeping contents at separate temperatures or allow them to attaina uniform temperature through optional stainless steel inserts orstainless steel clips. The gaskets between the lid and bottle body keepsthe contents air tight and provides a longer shelf life. The canteendesign allows. The gasket between the flip up spouts and the lidprevents leakage of contents even when the bottle is tilted upside down.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure pertains to a multipurpose improved dualchambered container. The dual chambers can be used for storing differentcontents. The two chambers have a space between them. This space acts asan air barrier and prevents heat transfer between the two chambers allowthem to remain at their own temperatures. So the bottle could be usedfor carrying both hot and cold contents at the same time. The bottlecomes with three interchangeable lids. The first lid type allows theuser to pour or sip out the contents of each chamber separately. Whenusing the second lid type, the contents are mixed together before comingout of the flip up spout. The third lid type allows a snack and drinkconfiguration where the user can drink out of one chamber and accesschips and larger contents from the other chamber. There is a gasketbetween the lid and the bottle body to keep moisture and humidity outand provide a tight seal. The dual chamber bottles comes with optionalstraw inserts so that user can use the bottle for both sipping andpouring. The spouts are wide enough to allow free flowing liquids,viscous liquids like apple sauce and puree, and solids like baby powder.There is an optional stainless steel insert that could be inserted inthe space between the two chambers to provide an indirect physicalcontact for heat transfer between the contents of the two chambers. Thisallows the contents to reach a uniform temperature. As an additionaloption, an optional stainless steel clip can be inserted such as toprovide direct physical contact between the contents of the twochambers. This allows the contents to reach a uniform temperature evenmore quickly.

The present disclosure is intended to overcome the drawbacks ofconventional and or traditional dual chamber bottles and containersystems by providing a means to use a single bottle with interchangeablelids to consume contents either separately or mixed together without thepossibility of leakage. Similarly, the present disclosure allows onedual chamber bottle to have the flexibility of either keeping contentsat separate temperatures or allow them to attain a uniform temperaturethrough optional stainless steel inserts or stainless steel clips. Thegaskets between the lid and bottle body keeps the contents air tight andprovides a longer shelf life. The canteen design allows. The gasketbetween the flip up spouts and the lid prevents leakage of contents evenwhen the bottle is tilted upside down.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a perspective top and front view of the body of the bottlehaving two chambers of equal size. The slot for the insertion of agasket around the top of the bottle body can be seen in this figure. 100refers to the bottle body. 104 refers to the round bottom feature of thebottle body. 500 refers to the gasket. The bottle body essentiallycomprises of two chambers with each chamber having a curved wall on oneside and a straight wall on the other side. 109 refers to small wallthat connects the curved wall of both chambers. 111 refers to therectangular space between the walls of the two chambers. There is ahollow space in the central wall such that the walls of each chamber donot come in contact with each other.

FIG. 2 is a perspective side view of the body of the bottle. The slotfor insertion of gasket can be viewed in more detail in this view.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the circular bottle bottom for placingthe bottle stable and upright.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the bottle with 2-to-1 lid on top of thebody of the bottle. The 2-to-1 lid allows mixing of the contents of thetwo chambers. The 2-to-1 lid consists of two flip up spouts, each comingfrom the one of the chambers, and then joining together. The contents ofeach chamber flow through the respective spout, and mix with thecontents of the other spout before exiting through a common outletaperture. 300 refers to the 2-to-1 lid. 301 refers to the 2-to-1 flip upspout.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the 2-to-1 lid. 308 refers to the armlock for spout and locks it place. Similar to 700, there are gasketsbetween the connection of the 2-to1 flip up to the lid. These gasketsprevent leakage when the bottle is turned upside down and ensures atight seal from external elements.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the 2-to-1 flip up spout. This viewshows the single common opening through which the bottle contents flowout. 306 refers to front opening for content extraction.

FIG. 7 is perspective view of the inside of the 2-n-1 lid. 203 refers toopening in the 2-n-1 lid through which the contents of each of chamberwill flow into the spout. This opening can also be used for optionalinsertion of straws. 800 refers to the center bar for lid to bottle bodyconnection. This center bar rests in the center of the bottle body.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the bottle with 2-n-1 lid. 2-n-1 lidconsists of two flip up spouts. The contents of each chamber flowsseparately out of the spout. 201 refers to 2-n-1 flip spout.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the 2-n-1 lid. 700 refers to gasket forflip up spout closure of 2-n-1, 2-to-1 and snack and drink lids. Thisgasket prevents leakage when the bottle is turned upside down andensures a tight seal from external elements.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the 2-n-1 spout. 206 is arm for lockingspouts in place atop lid. 204 refers to the front aperture.

FIG. 11 is perspective view of the inside of the 2-to-1 lid. 303 refersto the opening in the 2-to-1 lid through which the contents of each ofchamber will flow into the spout. This is also for optional insertion ofstraws.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the bottle with a snack and drink lid.The snack and drink lid consists of a flip up spout as shown in FIG. 9and a large D′ shaped snap lock flap. The D′ shaped snap lock flap islarge enough for contents like chips and others to be poured out throughthem. 400 refers to the snack and drink lid. 403 refers to the flip upspout on the snack and drink lid. 405 refers to the where the snap lockflap. 409 refers to where the snap lock flap is connected to the snackand drink lid. 600 refers to the gasket on the snap lock flap closureand is used to maintain freshness and prevent leakage when the bottle isturned upside down.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the snack and drink lid.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the stainless steel clip sleeve. 1000refers to this clip which slides over the central wall such that thestainless steel portion comes in contact with the inner walls of eachchamber. This clip sleeve allows direct thermal contact between thecontents of the two chambers allowing the contents to reach a uniformtemperature much faster than without the insert.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the stainless steel clip insert thatcan be inserted into the space between the inner central walls of thetwo chambers. 900 refers to this insert. The insert can slide in and outof this space. When the stainless steel insert slides between the wallsof the two chambers, it creates direct physical contact between thecontents of the two chambers. However because heat has to transferthrough three walls, the heat transfer does not occur very quickly.Hence, the contents of the two chambers will reach a uniform temperaturebut slower than when the clip sleeve is used.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the gasket 500 which fits along theouter rim of the top section of the bottle body and the bottle center.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION

The following description of the preferred embodiment is merelyexemplary in and is in no way intended to limit the invention in itsapplication or use. The description of illustrative embodimentsaccording to principles of the present invention is intended to be readin connection with the accompanying drawings which are to be consideredpart of the entire written description. Any reference to direction ororientation is merely intended for convenience of description and is notintended in any way to limit the scope of the present invention. Thepresent disclosure describes an improved dual chambered container whichwill have the following features and functionality:

Dual chambered container consisting of: the bottle body 100 with the twohollow chambers three different types of lids 200, 300, 400, that go ontop of the bottle body; pair of stainless steel inserts 900 that caninserted between rectangular space between the bottle chambers; inverted‘U’ shaped steel clip sleeve 1000 that can go in each of the hollowchambers.

Two hollow chambers in the bottle body 100 designed to hold liquids,snacks, solids and purees. The two hollow chambers are essentially twoseparate plastic bottles that are held together by a small wall 109 oneither side of the bottle body. The bottle body essentially comprises oftwo chambers with each chamber having a curved wall on one side and astraight wall on the other side. The curved and the straight walls runalong the longitudinal length of the bottle. The straight walls of thetwo chambers are not fused and hence there is no common wall in thecenter of the bottle. Instead, they are joined together by a small wall109 on either side of the bottle thereby forming a rectangular space 111between the walls. The small wall 109 and the rectangular space 111 runsalong the longitudinal length of the bottle body 100. This space betweenthe hollow chambers prevents direct physical and thermal contact betweenthe contents of the two chambers due to presence of air which acts as aninsulator. This prevents them from attaining a uniform temperature.

The body of the bottle 100 can be made out of BPA free plastic,stainless steel or glass. This type of bottle will allow moisture to bekept out of the dual chambered bottle.

The shape of the entire bottle is in the form of a canteen with themiddle section smaller in cross-sectional length than the outer section.Canteen shapes have been proven effective in pouring out more fluid thancomparable bottles and containers.

The lid will cover the body of the bottle 100. A lip along the mouth ofthe lid is added for secure and tight closure and locks the lid inplace.

A gasket 500 is inserted between the lid and body of the bottle. Thegasket as shown in FIG. 16 fits in a slot on the outer rim of the top ofthe bottle body and the slot in the center cross-section of the top ofthe bottle body. This gasket will be made out of silicon. It will beheat resistant with and manufactured with FDA approved food gradematerial.

The lids can be put on the plastic, stainless steel or glass bottlebody. All lids will have the following common features:

Flip up spouts with the wide enough diameter to allow puree foods, thickand viscous liquids, or easy flowing solids of 12 micron size such asbaby powder, powdered fruit drink mixtures to flow through them. Thereare gaskets attached at the connection point of the flip up spout to thebottle body. These gaskets allow tight seal when the flip up spout isclosed to prevent leakage from the bottle when it is turned upside down.The gasket also provides a seal from the external elements. Thisarrangement only allows contents to be poured out only when the flip upspout is lifted up.

A wall extending from the center cross-sectional line of the lid to theto the top of the bottle body thereby forming two separate chambersinside the lid.

There will be three different types of interchangeable lids:

2-n-1 lid will allow individual consumption of the contents of the twochambers. The 2-n-1 lid will consist of two flip up spouts eachprojecting into one of the chambers.

2-to-1 lid will allow the contents of the two chambers to mix togetherprior to reaching the mouth. There will be one flip-up spout 301 whichis really two flip up spouts that fuse together to form an inverted ‘Y’with two inlets and one common outlet. The common outlet will allow thecontents of the two chambers to mix together before leaving the outletaperture. The 2-to-1 feature allows the contents of the two chambers tomix together before the contents enter the mouth.

Snack and drink lid have one flip up spout similar to the 2-n-1 spoutthat for drinking liquid from one chamber and a snap on lid for eatingsnacks, chips and other foods from the second chamber. Snack and drinklid have a snap lock on the inside of the lid that locks the lid inplace. The snap on feature provides easy access for both liquid and soldcontents. There is a gasket 600 on the snap lock flap closure that isused to maintain freshness and prevent leakage.

The bottom portion of each flip up spout will project into one of thetwo hollow chambers. Straws can be inserted into the bottom portion ofthe each flip up spout as shown in 203 and 303. Inserting the straw willallow the individual to sip on the contents. Without the straws,individuals will have to pour the contents out in their mouth.

The bottle will be made with an injection mold.

1000 is an inverted ‘U’ shaped stainless steel clip that is the samelength as the central wall of the bottle body and of same height as thatof the inside of the hollow chambers. 1000 will snuggly slide over thecentral wall of bottle body like a sleeve. Once the stainless steel clipsleeve is inserted over the central wall of the bottle body, it willcreate direct physical contact between the contents of the two chambersthus acting as heat transfer bridge allowing heat to be transferred fromthe contents of one chamber to the other allowing them to reach auniform temperature very quickly. When the stainless steel clip sleeveslides in all the way to the inside bottom of the chambers, it will sitdirectly on top of the gasket 500.

There is a space between the straight walls of the two chambers 111. Twoinverted shaped stainless steel inserts could be inserted in this space111. The vertical section will slide into the rectangular space 111 andthe shorter horizontal section will sit on the top central rim of thebottle body. The gasket 500 will sit on top of the horizontal section ofthe stainless steel inserts. Insertion of the stainless steel insertswill allow the two chambers to attain a uniform temperature over time.When the stainless steel inserts slides between the walls of the twochambers, it creates direct physical contact between the contents of thetwo chambers. However because heat has to transfer across three walls,the heat transfer does not occur very quickly. Hence, the contents ofthe two chambers will reach a uniform temperature but slower than whenthe clip sleeve is used.

What is being claimed is:
 1. A dual chambered bottle comprising of: abottle body with two hollow vertical chambers; and the walls of firstand the second chambers are not directly physically in contact with eachother except for outer perimeter wall along the vertical side of thebottle body and at the bottom of the bottle body thereby leaving acentral space between the wall of the first and chamber; and a slotalong the outer rim of the top portion of the bottle body for theinsertion of a gasket; and a lid with an outer lip which locks the lidin place to the body of the bottle, a vertical separating wall in theinside center of the lid that is the same height as the lid.
 2. The lidaccording to claim 1 comprising of two spouts each with one openinginside one of the chamber and one opening to outside, two locking armsto connect spout to lid, gaskets attached to the connection point of thespout with the lid, wherein when the flip up spout is lifted, thecontents of the respective chamber are poured out and not leak when thebottle is closed and inverted upside down.
 3. The lid according to claim1 comprising of two connected spouts each with one opening inside one ofthe two hollow chambers, two locking arms to connect spout to lid,gaskets attached to the connection point of the spout with the lid, andthe two spouts connect together to form one common opening, wherein whenthe connected spouts are lifted up, it allows mixing between thecontents of the two chambers as they are discharged out from the commonopening.
 4. The lid according to claim 1 comprising of one spouts withone opening inside first chamber and one opening to outside, two lockingarms to connect spout to lid, gaskets attached to the connection pointof the spout with the lid, and one large snap lock flap with gasket onthe snap lock flap closure on the lid for the second chamber.
 5. A metalclip sleeve comprising of two vertical sections, connected together withhorizontal metal bridge on top and two small outward projectinghorizontal metal pieces on the bottom of each vertical section, whereinwhen the metal clip sleeve slides over the central wall of the bottlebody as in claim 1, it forms a bridge on top of the central spacebetween chambers allowing thermal contact between the contents of thetwo chambers.
 6. A pair of metal inserts comprising of two verticalsections of height less than the bottle body as in claim 1, twohorizontal sections pointing in opposite direction that can sit on topof the central rim of the bottle body, wherein when the pair of metalinserts slides inside the central space it allows the contents of thechambers to reach a uniform temperature.
 7. A body, comprising: a bodyportion having a dividing wall extending from the base portion to extendpast the top of the bottle; a first chamber for holding a first liquid;cooperating with a first flip-up spout and optional first strawattachment; a second chamber for holding a second liquid; cooperatingwith a second flip-up spout and optional second straw attachment. The2-to-1 flip-up spout lid design allowing first and second liquids fromthe first and second chambers to mix together upon consumption.